We're going to be buying our Christmas tree this weekend, and we'd like to make a fresh cut on the trunk to help it with water uptake. What kind of saw do we use? At the lost we used to buy from they'd use a chainsaw, but we don't want to buy a chainsaw to use just once a year. So what kind of saw do we need? Is a hacksaw going to be strong enough?

My Dad uses a carpentry type wood saw, like he would use on boards. I have a bow or Swede saw that I would use.

When you get your tree, put it outside, standing up in a 5 gallon pail of water for a couple days before you bring it in. It'll help it get hydrated right away. We always added a little maple syrup to the water (we make our own so it isn't expensive for us) but a little sugar would probably work, too.

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After cleaning out my Dad's house, I have this advice: If you haven't used it in a year, throw it out!!!!.

For any of the Irish we have in our midst, how do you pronounce Mairead? I love the Celtic Woman and that's one of the names I think looks pretty but I don't know how to pronounce it!

I love the Irish names like that one and Saoirse, and it was one name I considered for a girl because I love what it means but my friend talked me out of it because it would be so hard to pronounce for anyone unfamiliar with Irish pronunciation. So if he'd been a girl his name would have been Brigid but as it happens, it didn't matter! LOL!

I've always wanted to know this - how do container ships keep the shipping containers from sliding off the deck during rough seas? I know the containers themselves are really heavy and big (they only look small compared to the rest of the ship!) but I would think one rogue wave and all those containers would be at the bottom of the ocean.

They do tend to be secured onto the deck. I think the bottom one is clamped and the others lock into place.luckily, it's not entirely foolproof as my father inspects damage which occurs in transit on ships.

Thanks! I wondered if there was a way to secure them but as you're going by it doesn't appear to be the case (and I know nothing about ships). Guess I was picturing enormous bungee cords and was disappointed not to see something like that.

"We're going to be buying our Christmas tree this weekend, and we'd like to make a fresh cut on the trunk to help it with water uptake. What kind of saw do we use? At the lost we used to buy from they'd use a chainsaw, but we don't want to buy a chainsaw to use just once a year. So what kind of saw do we need? Is a hacksaw going to be strong enough?"

Don't use a hacksaw to cut down a tree. It's got shallow teeth and it'll take forever. Get a bow saw or a regular hand saw that has more aggressive teeth and it'll work fine. Most people prefer a bow saw for tree cutting because the thinner blade is less likely to get trapped as you cut through the tree and it settles on the blade, but unless the tree is more than ten feet tall I never saw (har har) much difference.

AfleetAlex wrote:

"I've always wanted to know this - how do container ships keep the shipping containers from sliding off the deck during rough seas? I know the containers themselves are really heavy and big (they only look small compared to the rest of the ship!) but I would think one rogue wave and all those containers would be at the bottom of the ocean."

They clamp to the deck and each other, so barring huge force or a failed clamp they won't tip. Of course, failed clamps happen more often than you'd think so rough seas can cause tipping and spilling but most container damage is due to loading accidents.

If the person wanting to make a cut on an already cut tree just needs to notch it for water uptake and not shaving off the entire bottom - a hacksaw would probably be okay as long as it can bite into the bark. Hand saw would probably be faster though. I have heard of some people using a drill to put holes in for the same reason. I don't know - been years since we had a live tree, and I don't remember what Dad used to do to keep ours thriving.

"If the person wanting to make a cut on an already cut tree just needs to notch it for water uptake and not shaving off the entire bottom - a hacksaw would probably be okay as long as it can bite into the bark."

You can cut it off the stump with a hacksaw, but a saw designed to cut pipe will take a long time to saw through a tree. To be honest, if I wanted to cut a disk off the end of the trunk (which is how most people will approach recutting for water uptake because it's the easiest way), I'd think a coping saw would be easiest just because it's small and light, but I figured a hand saw would be useful for more than just this task and she was talking about buying a saw to do this.

Why is my Internet connection speed so much slower this week? I got amazon prime 2 weekends ago, and last week had no problems watching videos, this week it's play, pause, play pause, ad nauseum. Why would it change?( I have whatever the basic-est connection is, through the phone company, and if it didn't/ couldn't work, I'd be fine, but again, last week it worked beautifully!)

If you have a basic package, have you gone to the download limit? If you are streaming videos (I don't know how amazon prime works), you could hit a limit really fast. You might want to check your internet account. Of course, if you've got unlimited data, I'm stuck.

"I've always wanted to know this - how do container ships keep the shipping containers from sliding off the deck during rough seas? I know the containers themselves are really heavy and big (they only look small compared to the rest of the ship!) but I would think one rogue wave and all those containers would be at the bottom of the ocean."

They clamp to the deck and each other, so barring huge force or a failed clamp they won't tip. Of course, failed clamps happen more often than you'd think so rough seas can cause tipping and spilling but most container damage is due to loading accidents.

Virg

Aha, thanks, Virg. I didn't realize they were clamped down to the deck or each other, but that makes sense!

Thanks, magicdomino, Outdoor Girl and Virg! The husband and I are heading to the Home Depot tonight to see if we can find a bow saw. (I had to Google that to see what it was, but I think I get it now.)

We're not handy people, as you might have guessed, but I was pretty sure the hacksaw the husband borrowed was not going to do the job. It seemed like it would be like cutting the trunk with a steak knife.

OK, I'm still confused about what's happening with Tumblr. Before, I would look up a topic and then see pictures/posts one after another. I refresh and new posts pops on top. Just scroll up and down the page. Easy.

Now, it's just a jumble of old pictures. Is this how it's suppose to be now or are they still fixing it? I would ask them, but it's such a confusing website that I don't know where or who to ask.

"We're not handy people, as you might have guessed, but I was pretty sure the hacksaw the husband borrowed was not going to do the job. It seemed like it would be like cutting the trunk with a steak knife."

Well, the hacksaw will get through the tree (it's designed to cut metal so it's up to the job) but the teeth are so small and shallow that it'll take a zillion passes to get through it. The bow saw has deeper teeth so it digs out more wood per pass. Just be aware that a bow saw is bigger than you'd imagine it when you see a picture. It can be nearly two feet across.

Tiamet wrote:

"If you have a basic package, have you gone to the download limit? If you are streaming videos (I don't know how amazon prime works), you could hit a limit really fast. You might want to check your internet account. Of course, if you've got unlimited data, I'm stuck."

Most home Internet connections don't have data limits (in the U.S. at least) but your suggestion is still a good idea. A call to the provider will usually get an explanation if it doesn't get a solution so that's what I always tell people to do first.

OK, I'm still confused about what's happening with Tumblr. Before, I would look up a topic and then see pictures/posts one after another. I refresh and new posts pops on top. Just scroll up and down the page. Easy.

Now, it's just a jumble of old pictures. Is this how it's suppose to be now or are they still fixing it? I would ask them, but it's such a confusing website that I don't know where or who to ask.

Have you tried it on a different browser/computer? I don't know what you mean about the jumble of pictures - I keep a tumblr for a baby scrapbook (SO much easier than remembering to update physical pictures or managing a real blog, plus I can share it with relatives!) and it looks the same to me!

(I do actually know "who to ask," incidentally - the guy who started Tumblr was the best friend of the guy I dated in high school. It was really weird when I started hearing about this little quirky site he started from my other friends who don't know him - and it's REALLY weird seeing it become this new Facebook/Twitter/etc analogue!)

Can you have Macs and PCs on the same wifi network? Can they use the same wireless printer?

Totally not a techie but I don't see why not. The wifi and the printer are dependent on the software loaded on the computer so as long as the computer has the right software, I don't see why it would matter what kind of computer it is.

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After cleaning out my Dad's house, I have this advice: If you haven't used it in a year, throw it out!!!!.

Have you tried it on a different browser/computer? I don't know what you mean about the jumble of pictures - I keep a tumblr for a baby scrapbook (SO much easier than remembering to update physical pictures or managing a real blog, plus I can share it with relatives!) and it looks the same to me!

(I do actually know "who to ask," incidentally - the guy who started Tumblr was the best friend of the guy I dated in high school. It was really weird when I started hearing about this little quirky site he started from my other friends who don't know him - and it's REALLY weird seeing it become this new Facebook/Twitter/etc analogue!)

I don't have another computer so I can't check. I don't have an account, but what I mean is I'm just looking at general pages, not my own or specific ones. I go to the main page (www.tumblr.com) and on top is a search tags box and I would type in a subject (say Dance) and pictures/posts of about dancing will pop up, newest on top and you just scroll down for older posts from many different people. Now it's just a mess of pictures in no order.

Oh well. I'll just wait for them to update again and hopefully change it back to the way it was.